28978 Ixion
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| Discovery A (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/NumberedMPs.html) | |
|---|---|
| Discoverer | Deep Ecliptic Survey |
| Discovery date | 22 May 2001 |
| Alternate designations | 2001 KX76 B (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/MPDes.html) |
| Category | Plutino |
| Orbital elements C (http://asteroid.lowell.edu/) Epoch | |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.2416 |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 39.4851 AU |
| Perihelion (q) | 30.0116 AU |
| Aphelion (Q) | 49.0904 AU |
| Orbital period (P) | 248 years |
| Mean orbital speed | |
| Inclination (i) | 19.627° |
| Longitude of the ascending node (Ω) | 71.027° |
| Argument of perihelion (ω) | 299.557° |
| Mean anomaly (M) | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | <822 km diameter |
| Mass | |
| Density | |
| Surface gravity | |
| Escape velocity | |
| Rotation period | |
| Spectral class | |
| Absolute magnitude | 3.244 |
| Albedo | 15% |
| Mean surface temperature | |
28978 Ixion (ik-sye'-un; Latin Ixīōn, Greek Ιξῑων) is a Kuiper belt object discovered on May 22 2001 with a diameter of < 822 km and a semimajor axis of about 39.5 AU. Ixion is a Plutino, meaning it has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune.
Little is known about this object. The latest spectroscopy results indicate that the Ixionian surface is a mixture of dark carbon and tholin, which is a heteropolymer formed by irradiation of clathrates of water and organic compounds (such as methane or ethane).
28978 Ixion is named after Ixion, a figure from Greek mythology. It previously had the provisional designation 2001 KX76.
Reference
- Pre-print (http://www.astro.helsinki.fi/~psr/Papers/Ixion-AAL.pdf) about Ixion's surface from the Planetary Systems Research group of the University of Helsinki.
da:2001 KX76 de:Ixion (Asteroid) fr:28978 Ixion nl:Ixion (planetoïde) ru:Иксион sl:28978 Iksion zh:小行星28978